The Legend of Zelda, Forgotten Deities
by Legendofzelda3
Summary: Din has become evil, and kidnapped Link's friend, the princess of Hyrule. Link, and a mysterious girl must embark on a quest to save Hyrule, The Princess, and conquer an evil woman. In between all of it, the Legend of Majora's Witch swirls...
1. Chapter 1, Majora's Quest

Forgotten Deities

Chapter 1

It was twilight. A pinkish-red glow shone over the peak of Death Mountain. A haunting breeze blew over my shoulder, brushing my hair back in a small flurry. I took a step towards the edge of the cliff, staring out past the horizon. I had come out here to be alone, and try to relax, but I found myself depressed, thinking about my failed assignment. I sat on the hard ground, layered with soft grass, and thought about the day's events.

**Hyrule Castle Throne Room**

"Majora, are you ready?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. You are to take Majora's Mask to the temple of Shadow, as of safety customs."

"Safety customs?"

The King looked at me, his face still friendly, yet puzzled, as if I should know this. As if to answer my question, he responded "Ah! I forget. Originally, we would choose the bravest, fastest, strongest knights in Hyrule to complete this quest, but our best knight was killed in the war ten years ago."

"Who was this knight?"

"A descendant of the great Sir Raven, of Labrynna. He had a son, as well. About your age, by now." The king looked thoughtful. "We believe that his bloodline may carry the blood of the original Hero of Time."

"Shame. What a knight he must have been."

"Indeed. He was the best in Hyrule. Absolutely Amazing Swordplay. But as we have recently found you, the keeper of the mask itself, we figure you are the most worthy of the job."

"Your majesty, why do we take the mask to and from the Light and Shadow temple every ten years?"

"Precaution, my dear. We may think we have the flames of evil under control, but we never know if they might be planning our demise as we speak. If they try to track the mask, they will find it difficult, as we change the mask's location."

"Very well. Shall I get moving?"

"Proceed. Best wishes, Majora."

"And to you, your majesty."

As I walked out into the castle courtyard, I noticed a girl, sitting on one of the many walls. Upon closer examination, I noticed that she was one of the princesses. She was the older one of the two, Akaya. Akaya was never light-hearted or happy. She refused any suitor that visited, and never did anything considered "fun". She was the exact opposite of her younger sister, Jine. People didn't often pay any attention to Akaya, because of her personality.

I quickly avoided eye contact, turning my head away. I thought I was safe, but a voice sounded from behind me.

"I know you saw me." I winced mentally.

I turned around. "Were you hiding?"

"No, but you turned your eyes away, like everyone else."

My brow pinched a little. "How could you possibly tell?"

"It's happened so many times. I can feel stares like you can feel a small pressure on your arm."

What a curious girl.

"What are you doing?" She cocked her head to the side.

"I'm on a quest. The king has assigned me a job, to deliver Majora's Mask from the Light Temple to the Shadow Temple. I suppose it is a little odd to hear this from a fourteen-year-old girl, though."

Confusion flashed on her face. "I thought we usually chose knights to do this quest, though."

"Yes, well..." I stood a little taller. "I _am _Majora."

A shock rippled across Akaya's face. Her eyes widened and stared into space. One of her fingers twitched. "What did you say?" She gasped.

Hesitantly, I replied "I am Majora. What of it?"

Akaya jumped down from the wall, leaving a tiny tear in her dress. She half-ran over to me. "You must be careful!" She said. Despair pooled in her eyes. "Take extra caution, please!"

"W-why?" I stammered, shocked by the princess's outburst. A few guards were looking over at us, puzzled. I made sure to keep my hands off, so they wouldn't think I was attacking the princess.

"I've had visions of this day. A great evil is rising, and they are coming after you. Please, Majora!" The older girl shook me. "You must be careful!"

"I-I..." I stuttered, not sure what to do. I decided on fleeing. I tore across the beautiful courtyard, hoping feebly that a mature nineteen-year-old girl had been playing around.

**Two days passed, and I was on my way to the Shadow Temple.**

A cape of darkness had blanketed Hyrule, but worry was not what I felt. Coming from the Dark World, I had always preferred walking in the darkness of night. It made me feel safe, like being wrapped in a blanket, but still feeling free to move as I pleased.

A cloud shifted, and a glow of moonlight rained down on me. I took a minute to bask in it. Moonlight was to Twili, the people of the Dark World, what the sun was to people of the Light World. Instead of taking in heat, I absorbed the cool, shivery rays of the moon. I flopped down onto the ground, taking a moment to relax. I hadn't felt moonlight like this in awhile.

"Ahhh..." I murmered.

A thought hit me. The moon was so much like the Twili. A complete shadow of light, unimportant and forgotten. The thing most would cast aside like a broken toy. I felt miserable.

I clutched Majora's Mask, holding it like a teddy bear. I didn't realize how tired I was. Yawning, I fluttered my lids shut, slowly. I'd take a small rest. The power of the mask would repel any monsters in Hyrule Field. Then everything was black, and a dream crept into my mind.

Two people were talking. One had long, flowing hair, like mine, but her hair was black instead of blonde. She was wearing loose black pants, and a black shirt, with the top resting under her arms. Two black earrings hung from her long, pointed ears. The other was wearing a green tunic, with ash-blonde hair and a long green cap. A sword and shield were strapped to his back.

"I can help you." The girl said mischievously. "But only if you help me to finish some chores around my house first."

"Done and done." The male replied. "So long as you help me save my friend."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Such a Hero. So noble! Don't go spouting that stuff around my house, though."

And the image faded away.

I awoke from a dark pain in my arms. I sat up immediately. I thought about my dream. The house they were talking in looked so unusual. And something about their voices bothered me. As I sat pondering, I remembered what woke me up. Of course. The mask had made me I noticed something. Majora's Mask was pulsating waves of dark energy, making my arms ache. I quickly dropped the mask.

"Wait a minute-" I thought to myself. "The mask only does that when..."

And then I heard the noise.

Footsteps, paired with an occasional whiney and a small "Kraa!" from what I guessed to be a bokoblin. The steps were quick, like a run, and probably not friendly.

"I'm under attack!" I cried to myself. Majora's Mask was useful tool for telling of close assaults.

A small army advanced on me. I quickly jumped up, gathered my things, and began to sprint. My red-violet boots thumped against the ground like my heartbeat against my chest. The spikes on my shoulders and sides cut through the racing air. I began to lose speed, along with stamina, but I knew it didn't matter. The enemy was faster.

I eventually tripped and fell to the ground, scraping my hands. The small army arrived in front of me, casting a dark shadow.

There were many bokoblins, as I predicted. A few moblins were behind them, and kargoraks circled overhead. Upon the one armored horse sat a woman, with pale green skin, a long, armored skirt, and a revealing top. A long, curling hat covered one of her eyes, and let loose a single stripe of dull, orange hair.

Veran.

"It's time to quit running." Veran said in a chilling tone. "Hand it over, Majora!" Her horse whinnied.

I jumped up. My hand reached protectively over my bag. My fierce, red eyes glared at Veran.

"Never!" I cried. "As the sworn protector of this mask I cannot allow you have it!" Veran's eyes glinted in rage. "I will do everything in my power to stop you!"

"Ah...such a shame." She shook her head. A movement caught the corner of my eye. I decided against looking at it. Veran was more important. "I came all this way to retrieve Majora's Mask. I need it for..." Veran paused. "...purposes." Her eyes flashed dangerously, but this time, in a mischievous way. "You see, I was hoping you would say-" The demoness cocked her head slightly to the side as a grin formed on her pretty features. Then she let loose her final word in a shriek that pierced my ears. "DIFFERENT!"

And with that, a moblin struck me in the back unconscious.

**In a few hours...**

As I slept, I dreamt. I dreamt that I was in the Dark World again, and just as I was beginning to feel at home, an alarm sounded, and armed guards surrounded me.

"You're an outsider!" They called.

"You don't belong here!" They yelled.

Tears flowed to my eyes. "What are you talking about?" I called back. "I'm Majora! I took the burden of Majora's Mask when I was only eight! This is my home!"

"Silence, fool!" They began to beat me with clubs.

"No, stop! Stop! I'm Majora! I'm Majora! I'm Ma-"

And then a club came in whooshing behind my back. My eyes opened in shock, and at the moment of impact-

"No!" My eyes snapped open. I took a second to steady my breathing.

"Just a dream, just a dream." I comforted myself. I tried to sit up. My back reacted with excruciating pain. I cried out.

Reaching carefully, I moved my hand from the ground to my back, feeling the wound. My fingers touched something sticky and wet. Blood.

Judging from the amount of it, it must have been a pretty big cut.

I took a minute to raise myself up of the ground. Once I grew accustomed to the pain in my back, I sat up, legs crossed. I tried to remember why my back hurt. I recalled Veran, and her small army of monsters. That one moblin, who attacked me, striking me in the back. That explained the pain I felt in my dream.

I banged my fist on the ground. How could I be so stupid? The movement caught my eye, and I should have turned, to see the moblin! Now the mask...

The mask...

Veran...she wanted Majora's Mask...

"No!"

I dived over my bag, ignoring the pain that surged from the movement. I quickly dug through the contents, searching...

"No..." Tears spilled into my eyes as I realized the cold, hard truth. The mask wasn't there. I had failed.

I knelt into my knees, threw my head back, and released one long, cold, raw scream. Exhausted, I sank back onto my stomach, miserable, knowing my mistake could lead to the destruction of Hyrule.

"Goddesses..." I whispered, half crying. "Forgive me..." And I laid sobbing until the shine of dawn appeared.

**End of chapter one.**

That's the first chapter! Please review! And some info about the story: It's based on a comic I drew and colored some months ago. This version is clearer and has more info, like back stories telling about how this-got-there and so on. Also! Jine's name is pronounced "ji-NAY" I couldn't figure out how to type an accent. Alt codes don't work...:(


	2. Chapter 2, The Festival

Chapter 2

It was dark...

Shadowy mist surrounded me...

Squinting, I could just barely make out two figures in the distance...they looked like humans...

Whispers slipped around my ears, teasingly dropping out of earshot when I thought I had them.

And then the figures came into focus.

Two women. One had waist-length wavy blue hair, and was wearing light jewelry, along with flowing blue robes. The other was more green-themed, with bright green hair and brown eyes. She had no jewelry, and a jade-colored top and skirt, tied with a brown ribbon. Both pairs of eyes wide with pleading hands, they appeared to be begging.

Finally, I could hear what they were saying.

"Link..."

"Link...!"

"Link!"

"Uh-what?"

"Link! Help us!"

I rubbed my eyes...was this real? "What do you need help with?" I said, puzzled.

"Link, please! Help us! You...save..." I began to lose the understanding of the whispers. "Hyrule...trouble...Maj...sk..." I struggled to listen, but it was no use. It was all slipping away, like water across a stream of stones. My eyes grew heavy, and I found myself falling away, into a never ending tunnel of darkness...

"**LIIIII**IIIIIIINK!"

"Gah!" The call surprised me, making me sit bolt upright, in turn making me bang my head against the shelf above my bed. It held a variety of objects, which spilled into my sheets.

"Link! Get out here!"

I groaned. Not that I didn't like Jine, I just didn't like being woken up. And you can't really blame me for being grump after hitting my head on a bed-shelf.

I sighed and stepped out of bed. Creaking across the old floorboards, I went to the window and opened it, letting a cool breeze blow into my bedroom. I poked my head out, to see Jine standing, hands on hips, outside my house.

"Hang on, Jine, I'll be out in a minute!" I called. I think she rolled her eyes. "That's what you said last time, and it took you, like, an hour to get out here!" She paused in her rant. "And put some clothes on, boy!" She finished, eyeing my black pajamas.

I sighed, and headed over to my dresser. Same green tunic, the one my father gave to me. Same green cap, the one my mother used to cradle me in. I drank a bit of bottled water from Lake Hylia, and headed out the door.

"Hey, Jine!" I called, jumping down the ladder, rather than climbing. Jine gave me a look that said 'Get up faster next time.'

"You left the window open." Was all she said in response." I took a minute to look at Jine. Blonde hair pulled into an untidy ponytail with a strand poking out in front of her eyes. Bright blue eyes, like mine, and a pink skirt, paired with a top the same color, and ties that wove down the front.

"What, so...no fancy dress?" I said accusingly. "I suppose you snuck out of the castle, then?"

Jine stuck her nose in the air. "Hmph! I'm a princess! _I _can do whatever I please!"

I raised an eyebrow. "So...the answer is yes?"

At that, Jine and I began to laugh.

"Phew...heh." She said, shaking off the last chuckles. "So, you remember the Goddesses' festival is today?"

"It's about time, too. The Goddesses' festival is the best day of the year."

"By far!" Jine blew the strand of hair away from her face, only to have it fly back. "It's started already, let's get moving."

The scene of the festival was really something. Then again, it always is. In Hyrule castle courtyard, stalls were set up, selling a variety of souvenirs. People were everywhere, small children were running around, balloons slipped out of hands and flew into the air, music played and blended into a single song, and in front of the castle, many stages were set up. One of them was occupied by Din, Nayru, and Farore cosplaying. The whole place radiated happiness.

"Hey, Link. I'm going to go change into formal clothes. I have to give the princess's speech, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." I turned my head towards Jine. "How're you gonna get back, though?"

"Jine gave me a mischievous smile."Same way I got out. They'll never notice a thing."

I gave a small whistle and walked forward with my torso leaning back. "Okay. If you say so." Jine punched me in the arm."Shut up. I know what I'm doing."

**A Half-Hour Later**

I had partied through at least half the festival, and was feeling great. I took a minute to rest against a Deku Sap stall.

"Hahhh..." I breathed in and sighed. The smell of Goron Candy and Zora Sugar Pearls drifted from my lips.

"Link! 'ay, Link!" Someone came running through the crowds towards me.

"'Ay, Link!" Brown hair, with green eyes and villager clothes, one of my friends skidded to a halt in front of me.

"Mikau! Hey, what's up?"

"Haha! Good to see ya! Nothing much. You?"

I shrugged. "Juuuust chillin'". I said, stretching out the word.

He rolled his eyes. "Enough of that. You remember that singer, Sila?"

I thought for a minute. Sila...Sila..."The Gerudan impersonator?"

"That's the one. Guess what? She's singing the theme of Gerudo Valley!"

"Awesome!" I cried, throwing my fist in the air. "Are we gonna go see her?"

"Is the moon made of cheese?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What? No! The moon is made of Light Rock and Dark Rock, crashed together, and held in the sky by the power of the two worlds!"

Mikau raised his eyebrows."You ever think that it's just a rock?"

"That's ridiculous. Rocks don't float."

Mikau blew a piece of hair away from his eye. "Do you wanna stand here arguing about mystical rocks or do you want to go see Sila?"

Mikau and I wove our way through the crowd toward the big stages in the northern courtyard, avoiding drinks, food, and noisy children.

"Ah!"

"Ow!"

I looked over to see who I had bumped into.

Dark blue dress, black eyes, and a silver shoulder armor. A curtain of chocolate brown hair swept around her neck and back.

"Pppprincess Akaya!" I exclaimed, blubbering like an idiot. "Iii'm so sorry!"

Akaya stood up slowly. She brushed a few specks of dirt from her dress. "No worries." The princess said, looking deep into my innocent blue eyes with bottomless black eyes of cold darkness. Not mean, but...empty. She was nineteen, seven years older than Jine, Mikau and I, but she somehow seemed a thousand years old.

"A-are you sure you're alright?"

She blinked. "I said, 'no worries.' I am alright." And she promptly walked away. Then she stopped, and turned back around. "Be careful, Link."

I didn't know what to say, so I ran back to catch up with Mikau.

**At one of the big stages**

"Hey, Mikau, I just-"

"Shhh! Sila's gonna sing!"

We were sitting in seats lined in front of the stage. People around us were talking excitedly about how "Sila was supposed to be a really good singer!" and "I hope she reaches that note I heard when she sang..." and things like that.

A thin man walked out onto the stage from behind a curtain.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there has been an unexpected problem. Sila has reported that she is not feeling well, and cannot sing today. We apologize for the error." He twirled his hair in his fingers. The crowd began to boo.

"Aw, c'mon!"

"It can't be that bad!"

"But I've waited to see Sila-!"

"P-please calm down, folks, and try to respect Sila's health-ow!" A shoe had hit him in the head.

"C'mon, Link, let's get out of here." Mikau murmured and began to stand up. "Agreed." I said and left with him.

Just as we got refills on sweetened red potion, an announcement cut through the drunken party air.

"Attention, everybody!"

Everybody looked up.

"Please report to the front castle steps for our lovely Princess's speech!"

Most of the party-goers trampled each other trying to head towards the Castle Steps. The princesses' speech was always something to look forward to. Jine would appreciate the Three Goddesses, then say words about what had happened so far in the year, and the people who had made it special. I was always mentioned.

Jine stepped up to the podium. It had a layer of audiom on top of it, to make her voice project throughout the courtyard.

"Welcome, Hylians!" Jine waited as the crowd roared back in response. "Well, ah, it's so wonderful that so many people have taken the time to attend this festival and honor the three goddesses who created Hyrule and selflessly gave so much to us!"

Another roar.

"And now, if we could all-"

"Excuse me, princess."

The interruption was a huge surprise to the crowd and princess. No one had ever dreamed that someone could speak over Jine. Everything went extremely quiet.

Sila, the Gerudo-impersonator stepped onto the stairs, with a dark look in her eyes. Her high heels went _tep, tep, tep, _against the stone floor.

"Ah, yes?" Jine turned her head away, but kept her eyes on Sila.

"If I could interrupt, I'd like to say a few words."

"You don't suppose it could wait? I'm in the middle of presenting a speech. If you don't let me finish, I'm sure the goddesses will be angry."

Sila chuckled, and began to walk towards Jine. "Silly girl, you're such a good princess." Jine began to step back. Sila met her eyes. "I wonder" she said thoughtfully. "How would you fare with deity right before those pretty little eyes of yours?"

Jine raised her eyebrows. Her expression resembled an animal realizing the arrow before its forehead. "I-I d-don't know, I've never met one."

Sila raised her head. Her lips moved into an evil grin. "S-Sila?" Jine's eyes got wider. "Sila?" Jine cried.

Then, there was a great rumble, like thunder. The Earth shook and the sky became fiery red. The clouds turned as black as Akaya's eyes, and a chilling wind blew over Hyrule. Sila's eyes began to glow as red as coals, and an unseen power raised her from the stone. Something grotesque radiated off of her. I couldn't tell what it was, all I could think was "I want my mommy."

This was very, very bad.

Half of the crowd had the sense to run. That included Mikau. The other half stood like idiots, frozen with fear. That included me.

Jine stood, her jaw gaping at the terrible scene before her.

"YOU FOOLS!" Sila screamed. "I AM NOT THE SILA YOU SPEAK OF! SHE IS DEAD!"

Well, that explains why she couldn't sing.

Sila, or not Sila's eyes glowed furiously. "MY NAME IS DIN!"

Din's eyes moved to look at Jine. At least, I think they did. Her eyes were still bright red.

"SO LONG YOU FORGOT ABOUT US! SO LONG YOU IGNORED US! THIS PARTY IS COMPLETLY FOCUSED ON HER!" Din pointed her finger at Jine. "SO, I THINK I'LL TAKE YOUR DEAR LITTLE PRINCESS WITH ME!"

Din looked at Jine. Jine looked at Din. Then I noticed something. A dark cloud-like thing had began to form around Din's arm, and slowly taken the shape of it. Now, it was a solid material, like wax, and looked extremely dangerous.

The crowd could only watch, stupefied, as a terrible scene flooded their eyes.

Then, the dark-arm thing snapped out to Jine, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her off of the ground. I gathered all the sense I had to move my feet towards the castle steps. "Jine!" I called.

"Link!"Link!" LIIIIIIINK!" Jine cried, as Din swept her away.

"No!" I called. Then I realized something. Din's high heels, were...glowing. Not just glowing, the bottoms seemed to catch fire.

Then everything seemed to slow down. I knew exactly what was about to happen.

"Nooooooooo!" I called, as twin lasers of absolute evil struck the courtyard, blowing it to pieces.

***  
Ta-da! Second chapter! Third is on the way! Phew! This took a long time to finish, even though it has less words than the first. Oh, well! And her name is pronounced "**Sy-**la**" **Just so you know.


	3. Chapter 3, Shadow

**Chapter 3**

**Thirty Minutes Before**

My feet slowly trudged along the dirt and grass of Hyrule Field. A breeze blew my long, black hair around, and my pants legs flapped slightly. My cold, black eyes came to rest on the walls outside of Inner Castle town. Outer Castle town was rural and unguarded.

I smirked. "Not like there's any person bad enough to attack them, though." My harsh yet beautiful voice said.

Once again, my eyes rested on the walls. An endless amount of noise spilled over them. I had heard that they had a festival today.

My stomach growled. I didn't have any money for the festival, but while people were off partying like the morons they were, I could sneak into a house and steal some food.

"Sounds good to me." I whispered to myself, and took off towards the gate.

**Ten Minutes Later**

A guard was positioned at the gate.

"Dang it!" I cried. Unfortunately, the guard heard me.

"Who goes there?" He cried, raising his spear. I stepped out from the corner I was hiding behind.

"Ah...greetings, good sir!" I said holding out my hand. The guard didn't take it.

"To pass, you must have a citizen's pass or a trader's pass, or must be royalty! Show me your pass!"

"Er-" I never got a pass because I was an outcast. I wasn't even from the light world.

"Show your pass or be gone!" He cried.

"Sheesh, ya don't have to be so dramatic! I'm goin', I'm goin'!

And so I was back behind my little corner. I thought for a minute, and then remembered something about the almost all the guards. With some luck, this should work.

**From The Guard's Point Of View**

"Such an idiot girl." I muttered to myself. "Everyone knows you need a pass to get through."

And then a wolf jumped from around a corner.

"Grrr..." It growled dangerously.

My breathing began to escalate. "Stay calm. You have a weapon. It's just a large dog..."

The wolf barked and snapped at me.

"...YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" I ran away, screaming. I didn't care if I got demoted. Wolfs scare me.

**Back To Me**

"Hahaha, that was great!" I said to myself. I took a minute to look at the now unguarded wooden door.

"And now," I said, anticipating the taste of food in my mouth. "It's time to eat."

**At A Villagers House, Outer Castle town**

I had managed to grab quite a bit of food. I was so hungry, I gave up on stealing it and decided to make soup in the villager's house. Something about it made me uncomfortable, like I shouldn't be there, but I also should.

Finally, my pumpkin-cheese-fish soup was done, and ready to eat. I wouldn't even bother getting bowl. I grabbed a spoon from a shelf upstairs, (the idiot decided to have it installed above his bed. What a moron!) and headed back to the kitchen. And then I, Illa Ghanti, but more commonly known as Shadow, took a sip of the first meal I'd had in a long, long, time.

I had been so preoccupied that I hadn't noticed the idiots at their cute little party had gotten real quiet. I took another warm sip of delicious soup,

And then a huge explosion blew through Inner Hyrule Castle Town.

I lied dazed for about ten minutes, and then managed to sit up, ignoring the aches all over my body. The explosion had destroyed a lot of Outer Castle Town, and I didn't even want to think about the shape of Inner Castle Town.

I groaned and hit my head. Most people rub their head to reduce pain, but I find hitting it works better.

I opened my eyes. "Oh my various goddesses." I whispered.

The houses were utterly and completely destroyed. I mean _destroyed._ Like, I could see the inside of the houses without opening a door. How did I know this? Because the same thing had happened to the house I was sitting in. Chunks of the roof had fallen in, some walls were collapsed, and broken furniture lay everywhere. The whole front of the house was missing.

I looked over.

No. No, no, no, no, nononononononononono!

"NOOOOO!" I cried, kneeling beside a broken object. "NOOO! NOT THE SOUP! DEAR, NIATRA! NOT THE SOUP!"

The soup pot was lying in a bent and twisted heap, with puddles of soup all around it. A sad, sad sight.

I looked around, and something outside caught my eye. A flash of green, but a different shade than the grass. I quickly got up, and jumped down the ledge out of the house. (The ladder was gone.)

I cautiously walked over to the thing. no, it wasn't a thing, it was a person! A boy.

He was lying in a heap on the grass, with blonde hair and a green tunic, with an honest face.

He groaned, and opened his eyes. Bright, clean blue, understanding and kind and...somewhat heroic.

The boy stared into my eyes and I stared back.

"Deja vu." I whispered.

Shortest.

Chapter.

Ever.

I've seen shorter, but I mean for this story. Wow. This was fun to write! And don't give me attitude about having such a short chapter. A chapter is a chapter.  
I don't have much more to say except that Niatra is a Goddess of The Dark World, and next chapter hopefully coming soon! Yay!


	4. Chapter 4, The Beginning

I couldn't do anything but stare into her face. Her beautiful features, the shadowy black mist that swirled in her eyes. She was bent over, holding me up by my shoulders.

"Deja vu." She whispered. And then she dropped me, and began to walk away.

My head hit the ground with a dull thud. I quickly scrambled up. "H-hey, wait! Where're you going?"

The girl turned around. "Away. I have no business here."

"But why?"

"I just told you, I have no business."

We stood facing each other, waiting for one to speak. The girl finally rolled her eyes.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Link. What's yours?"

She popped her head up a little higher. "I don't tell anyone my name. _You_ can call me Shadow."

"What kind of a name is Shadow?"

It happened in a flash.

Shadow's arms formed a smoky mist around them, which, almost immediately, took the shape of her arms. She put her face up close to mine and an arm to my throat. I realized the smoky mist had turned into swords, one for each hand. "You wanna find out?" She whispered threateningly.

My eyes were wide open with fear, not really because I had a sword dripping with evil pressed to my throat, but because I had seen it again. The dark magic Din had used.

"N-no thanks!"

"That's what I thought." Shadow said cooly. Her swords faded into nothing.

"This girl is evil." I thought. "She has a bad personality, she was reluctant to give me her name, and she used the same dark magic I saw at the festival. Well, I may as well see how much info I can get from the enemy."

Shadow began to walk away. I hurried to catch up with her.

"Sooo..." I began, hands behind my back. "What was that magicky-sword-thingy you just used?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well...I just saw it earlier today, and-"

"_What?_" Shadow stopped, turned around, and grabbed me by my shoulders.

"Aha! You're so caught!" I cried in triumph, which, seeing as how Shadow had me by the shoulders, was probably not the best idea.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I wasn't supposed to see this dark magicky thing before, was I? And now your master plan is ruined!"

Shadow blinked slowly. "What?"

"You're evil. Your master plan is ruined because I saw your magic."

"I'm about as evil as you are."

"I'm evil?"

Shadow gave me a 'You've-got-to-be-kidding-me' look. "You're not evil, so I'm not evil, okay? Look, just-describe what the magic you saw was like.

"Well, there was a person sort of weilding it..." Shadow nodded. "And it kind of turned into a smoky mist around her arm..." Shadow didn't ask who 'her' was. "And I don't think anyone noticed until it formed a shape around her arm. And then it hardened, but not really. More like it took the shape of her arm, like a second skin. Link...wax." I shuddered. "Pure evil." I said, feeling dramatic, in a good way. I think I put on a good show.

Shadow burst into gasps of laughter, shattering my dramaticness "Th-that's...not...pure...evil!" She chortled, in between laughs. "Not...even...close!"

"Then what is it?" I said grumpily.

"Okay...okay..." Shadow said calming down. "Okay. Well, you need to understand something, Link. What you saw me use is called shadow magic."

"Uh-huhhh."

"Shadow magic looks like this." Shadow held up her hand. A smoky fog surrounded her hand and seemed to solidify instantly."A sword." She said, holding up the black colored metal. "See, Shadow Magic is very powerful, and solidifies almost immediately. Whatever you turn it into, it becomes that material. So, I made a sword, and it became metal, even though it remained a black color. What you saw," Shadow let the sword disappear in her hand. "Probably looked like this."

Her face muscles went slack. She slumped over, and her shoulders drooped. She just barely held out her hand.

Then I saw something. I could just barely make out a small puff of blackness in her hand. It began to grow, and grow, and grow, until it had completely covered her hand. It waited a minute, then began to solidify. But not like the quick, instant smoke that Shadow had used a moment ago. This was inching slowly, until it took the texture of what I guessed to be wax.

Shadow raised her arm, which was covered in the black, sticky, tar-like substance, and in a spit-second, whipped the wax-thing into the air. I saw it catch around something, then return to eye level.

She turned to me with a smirk. "Here."

The arm unfurled itself to reveal a squished butterfly. I looked at Shadow in disbelief and a bit of disgust.

"Ew."

The arm disappeared along with the butterfly. "That's what you saw, right?"

I nodded.

She sighed. "It's called Nystach. You light-dwellers call it 'Black Magic.'"

"You talk about 'Light-Dwellers' like you're not one."

She gave me a confused look. "I'm not. Didn't you notice?"

What?

"_WHAT?" _I exclaimed, hopping away in surprise.

"What?" Shadow said, looking puzzled.

"Y-y-y-you're from the Twilight Realm?"

"Or the Dark World, whichever floats your boat."

"You _are_ evil!"

She rolled her eyes. "We've already confirmed that I'm not."

"No, I mean, the Twili are an evil race!"

"That's a stereotype. We're actually pretty nice people, if not fierce and a bit cold at times."

I stopped for a second. "Oh. Really?"

"What's my motive to lie?"

I didn't think this conversation was going anywhere, so I took her answer and left it at that.

"Oookay. So, you're not evil, you're a Twili, and you can use two types of magic. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Probably not the best thing to say. Shadow narrowed her eyes and said in a fierce tone "You know what? I won't tell you anything more. We're not friends, and the only reason you know this is because you were annoying enough to drag it out of me. I don't like people with stereotypes, either."

I widened my eyes. "That was sudden."

"I have a right to keep my life away from the prying eyes of a stranger. I won't tell you anything more, and I have things to do. Goodbye." And with that, Shadow stormed off, leaving me feeling empty.

"W-wait!" I called. She didn't turn around. "Wait! Shadow! Let me tell you something!" That made her falter. She began to walk back to me.

"What's that?" She said suspiciously.

"I-I-I'm...sorry I...talked to you...? Is that a good apology?"

She sighed. "Maybe it was a bit rude to walk out on you like that. It's just that I've had too much information about myself leak out before, and I got myself in a lot of trouble. So...I'm the one who's really sorry."

"Yes! I got her trust, boss!" I said over Shadow's shoulder. I was greeted by a punch in the face.

"Not. Funny."

"Yeesh! I was just kidding!" I said, rubbing my cheek.

Shadow sighed. "Don't joke around with that. Seriously, not funny."

"Okay, you're right. I'm sorry...again."

"I accept your apology."

"Then will you help me with something? Since you're all good and stuff?"

Now she was suspicious. "And what would this something be?"

And then I exploded. I told Shadow everything about what had happened this day. I went from hitting my head on the shelf above my bed, (Shadow looked a bit uncomfortable at that part,) to going to the festival with Jine, and meeting Mikau there, and how we went to see Sila, but she couldn't sing because she was sick, and listening to Jine's speech, and how Sila interrupted, and everyone discovered that she was evil, and actually Din, the Goddess of power, and how the real Sila was dead, and how Din kidnapped Jine with Black Magic,

"And then she a'sploded the whole courtyard, and now I'm here."

The entire time, Shadow watched and listened, raised her eyebrows, muffled some rouge giggles, twitched her eye.

"A'sploded?" She said, when I finished talking, with her head cocked to the side, one eye wide and the other squinted. "Did you seriously just say 'a'sploded?"

I looked down guiltily. "I like to say a'sploded."

Shadow sat down on a nearby rock, with her head in her hands. "This is bad." She said quietly. "This is very, very, bad."

"I know. Who's gonna help smuggle me into Hyrule Castle, now that Jine's gone?"

"No, you idiot!" Shadow cried, jumping up and shaking me by the shoulders. "Din is the Goddess of _power_! If she's gone evil, cukoo, or been possessed, do you know how much damage she could cause?" Shadow let go with something like a push.

"I-I didn't really think about it..." I stammered.

"I'm not even the same _race _as you, let alone religion, and even _I _remembered! How could you Hylians forget?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" I cried.

"I read," Shadow began "I read in _Tansaki u Ata _that light-dwellers would choose a specific Goddess to worship by them self, and attend a temple of that certain goddess on her day of the week."

"Not anymore we don't." I responded. Most Hylians don't even _have_ a religion."

"Then what's the reason for that Goddesses' Festival of yours?"

I shrugged. "To party, I guess. And what the Chu-Chu is Tankaki na ta-whatever?"

"_Tansaki u Ata_ is a story about when the Light and Dark worlds were first created. It tells about the lives of both worlds, and was supposedly written by one of the first Twilins and one of the first Hylians." She exhaled. I listened to her breath come out in a soft _whoosh_. "It's obvious why Din attacked, then. All you idiot Hylians forgot about her and her sisters, and now she's ticked off."

"Well, can we stop her?"

"I don't think-" Shadow stopped midsentence as a devious smile crept across her face. "Well, there might be a way written in a Twilight book back in the Dark World...but..."

"Wait! You can find a way in the Dark World?" I got a whack on the head as a response. "That is _exactly _what I just said. Learn to listen."

"Pardon" I said sarcastically.

"But anyways, it would take a lot of work to translate the ancient scripts into Hyrulean, so I'd need some motivation..."

My eyebrow escaped toward the top of my head. "Motivation?"

She grinned at me. "My house is looking kind of messy, but I'm so sure that you can help out."

"Seriously? You want me to clean your house, and in return, you translate scripts for me." Her eyes rolled up then down. "And once again, logic boy solves the impossible. Congrats."

"Are you kidding me?" I practically shouted. "My friend is in trouble. She could be _dead _by the time we find a way. You're making me clean your house in return for answers!"

I expected Shadow to cower and surrender, but instead she got this really scary look on her face, and I swear her black eyes glinted red. "Take it or leave it." She said quietly. "I am your only hope and you know it." I tensed myself for a fight, but she responded "And don't think you can fight me. Tougher people have run away from with a slap to the face."

"Fine." I said, trying to imitate her. "But don't think I'll enjoy it." A side of her mouth twitched into a smile. "Okay. Let's go." She grabbed my wrist.

And then we were flying. Bright, beautiful colors slashed by our faces, as darker, blackish-grayish-blue colors chased after. I could somehow feel the colors. The rainbows whizzed by, leaving a comforting, warm feeling inside and outside. Like feeling sunlight warm your skin while hot chocolate slid down your throat. And then I felt the darker colors move by. Chilly, cool night air blew over my shoulders, as cold water poured through my veins and throat, chilling me to the bones. I glanced over at Shadow, to see if she felt the same displeasure, but I think she was enjoying it.

We landed with a dull thud on hard, rocky ground.

"Welcome," Shadow said, raising her arm out with a flourish and putting the other around my shoulder, "To the Twilight Realm!"

I took one look at the red sky with black clouds, gray buildings, and dark green clothes highlighted with blue, and fell to the ground, becoming instantly ill.

Shadow looked at me with disgust. "Nasty, Link." When I was done, she snapped her fingers, and the pool of sick disappeared, along with the gunk on my lips. "How-?" I croaked, pale from fear and weakness. "Shadow magic. It can do that." But she looked a bit uneasy. "Here, I'll show you to my house."

Shadow's house was small, with about three floors. A basement, main area with a kitchen, and top floor, with her bedroom. And it was, very messy.

"Nice place you got here." I muttered sarcastically.

She shot me a look. "I've been gone awhile. I couldn't clean up."

"Great." I said. "I'm so looking forward to this."

She gave me a smirk. "I _can _help you, you know. But you're gonna have to finish some chores."

"Sure." I said, pointing my head at the ceiling dramatically. "So long as it helps Jine."

"Pfft." She muttered. "Such a hero! So noble! If you go spouting that stuff around my house, though."

I took a moment to study the house. "Oh, this'll be fun."

"Great!" She said, grinning. She handed me a broom. "You can start by sweeping up those papers over there!" And with that, she left the house.

**End of chapter 4**

How many times have I said this? Yay! I'm done! I must sound like an idiot. Oh, well. This chapter felt like it had some rushed parts, but oh well. Oh no! Am I losing my writing skills! Am I losing the crowd? XD As if I cared. Please review and tell me what you think of the story so far. :D


	5. Chapter 5, The Twilight Realm

**Chapter 5**

**Twilight Palace, In the Heart of The Dark World**

I was led to a fancy bedroom by a bunch of ugly monsters.

"Hey, watch it!" I cried as I was tossed to the floor.

"Shadow Assassins! Get down here!" cried a shrill female voice. A few of the monsters hurried away, but the rest stayed. They resembled giant pigs walking on two legs. They positioned themselves in front of the door. One turned his head inside, to stare at me. He pointed his thumb outside the door, then to me, then he pretended to drag his tasseled spear across his throat. He left to his post right outside the door, closing the door behind him. I knew what that meant. Try to leave, and I was dead.

I took a moment to look around the room. The stone walls were beautifully plastered with tapestries, and the marble floor was carpeted with fluffy rugs. A closet that looked like it could hold all the clothes in Hyrule Castle was built into a nearby wall, and a four-poster bed with deep purple and dark crimson sheets rested in the middle of the north wall. My eye caught a dark blue blanket huddled in the corner.

"So they got you too?" I looked around, confused. "Over here." The heap I had taken for a blue blanket slowly rose up. It was a young woman, with silver shoulder armor and a midnight blue dress. Eyes as black as the night sky stared at me from behind a curtain of chocolate brown hair.

Akaya stepped toward me. "My little sister. I was hoping they would forget about you, but the eye of Nayru does not lie.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was kidnapped, just like you." Akaya said quite calmly. "And I suppose you want to know who these people are, what they are going to do with us, and what the Eye of Nayru is, right?"

Dumbstruck, I nodded slowly.

"These people are a band of villains, with intentions of world domination. From what I figure, they already have the Twilight Realm under their little finger, but they will soon focus their hand over the Light World. I do not know what they will do with us, but I can guess they either want us for ransom, or for the powers we carry. The Eye of Nayru is a gift given to a handful of people in the Light and Dark Worlds. It is a power that makes the person clairvoyant, to some extent." She answered the questions in order.

I sighed and miserably trudged over to the bed, where I flopped down onto my back. "What powers are you talking about?"

"When the Goddesses created Hyrule, they blessed the royal family's members so they each had a special talent. As you can see, my talent in clairvoyance."

"And my talent?" I murmured, not quite caring.

"You're blessed with wisdom, of course."

I sat up. "What do mean?"

"Direct daughters of Princess Zelda the First are always blessed with part of the Triforce of wisdom."

"And how do people tell that I am a Direct Daughter of Zelda?"

She shrugged." It's something a princess is born with. You were born with it, but I wasn't, so I got a different blessing."

"And princes don't get this special blessing?"

Akaya shook her head. "We've never had a boy who did."

"Hmm..." I said sleepily.

"You're tired, you should sleep. Only the Goddesses could tell what happens tomorrow."

I rolled onto my side. "The goddesses are the ones who got us in this mess in the first place. Besides, I thought you had Nayru's Eye or whatever..." I murmured. I think Akaya said something else, but I couldn't tell because I was already asleep.

**Shadow's House, the Same Night**

I headed home quickly. I couldn't wait to tell Link what I had found in the libraries. I climbed up the ladder, and headed inside.

"Hey, Link!" I called, stepping onto the carpet. Wait, a carpet?

"Fabulous, I can see the floor!" I said. Link came climbing down the ladder from the second floor, and walked over to me.

"Way to go, buddy old pal!" I cried, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.

"Ah! Get-get-off of me!" He cried. I let go, chortling.

"Have you found anything in those libraries of yours?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders around to work out cracks.

"I did indeed!" I said, giving him a huge cheesy grin.

"And what did you find?"

"Okay, look at this." I led Link over to my dinner table, and dropped a big, heavy book on it. I thumbed through the pages until I found the one I was looking for.

"See here?" I pointed to the left page. "It says here that a deity turned wrong can be done in these three pendants from the Light World." I pointed to a picture of three metal disks tied to golden chains. "See? They're the pendants of Power, Wisdom, and Courage."

"I've heard Jine talk about her history tutors' lessons." Link said, half to himself. "The pendants are apparently hidden in abandoned master temples around Hyrule."

"Well, looky there!" I cried, closing the book and looking up at Link. "For once, you say something useful!" Link attempted to whack me. I grabbed his arm and gave it a small twist.

"Ow!" He yelped.

"You're lucky you didn't surprise me, or you'd be hand short." I said with a smirk.

Suddenly, loud shouts of yelling and a roar of footsteps thundered outside.

"What's that?" Link yelled.

I hurried over to the window. Tons of monsters, Moblins, Bokoblins, Kargoraks, Dodongos, you name it, were marching toward the house, screaming bloody murder. I told Link so.

"Haha, dodongo..." He said. I slapped him.

"This is no time to for jokes!"

"Well, what do they want from us?"

"They probably see that we're a threat to their evil plan, so they're coming to destroy us!"

"They're gonna make us a'splode?"

He got another slap.

"Most likely!"

"Well...why don't you transport us to the Light World?" He franticly cried.

"Do you know how much power that takes? I'd need to meditate to restore my magic!"

"So, meditate!"

With a frustrated sigh, I dropped to the floor.

"Don't blame me if we all die, though!" Were my last words before I plunged into my subconscious.

When a Twilin meditates to restore magic, they fall into their subconscious. But a Twilin's subconscious is not like a Light-Dwellers subconscious. Here, you can do whatever you want, for as long as you want. So long as you have once thought it, or about it, it exists in this amazing place. It's like your own personal world.

I can't describe what one looks like. It depends on the person. If you imagine yourself falling into an abysmal glowing blue pit, or simply your own bedroom, that's what it's like. Nothing dangerous can happen to you, so long as your physical body is safe. But if your body dies, your soul doesn't. It can stay trapped inside until you order yourself a painless death. You could stop to meditate one day and sleep through the end of the world.

People often think of the subconscious as the ultimate paradise, but if you stay in it for too long, you could become perfect to yourself, but utterly insane to everyone else.

I didn't plan on staying forever, though. I had a world-and an annoying kid-to save.

I was walking around in the princess's bedroom in the Palace of Twilight. I walked over and flopped onto the bed.

"Energy." I said.

Shadow Magic poured out of the walls, spreading everywhere. I did exactly what my teacher had told me so many years ago.

"Control the urge to absorb that your body has. If you let it run free, your magic channels will clog and nothing will be absorbed. Slowly drag in a current of magic, and push away the rest."

I spread my arms out, and pulled Shadow Magic into them. The rest was kept away until its turn.

Finally, the room was empty. I opened my eyes.

"Awaken!" I cried. Almost as soon as the words had left my mouth I was gliding, gliding back to the real world.

"Link! C'mon!" I cried, jumping up.

"It's about time you got here!" He shouted back. I looked around to see what he meant.

Monsters had begun to climb up the rocky walls to reach windows. Some of the more agile monsters were already trying to bust down the door. The flying pests were pecking t the shutters. The ones that got through were wrestling their bodies inside. Just then I realized the danger of the situation.

"Link! Come! Here!" I shouted, dragging him to the ground, just in time to save him from a stampede of bokoblins.

"Kraa!" They shouted. I held back my giggles for the time being, and focused on transporting myself and Link to the Light World. I allowed the Darkness to drain from my body, and focused on feeling Light and warmth caress my skin. I almost shuddered.

And then we were flying through the air again. Shadowy colors faded to light rainbows, and sunlight covered my body. I looked over at Link to see how he was taking it, but it looked like he was having fun. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think dark things. Shards of darkness, black robes highlighted with blue, the beautiful crimson sky...

And then we landed. I stood up and shook myself off. Link did the same.

"So, where do we go now?" He asked.

"The East Palace is where the book said the pendant of Wisdom is, so let's head there."

"Great! Do you know where we go next?"

"Uh, no...let me check the book..." I said, attempting to summon the book from where I had placed it in my mental storage. Mental Storage is an extremely difficult trick for Shadow Magic. The only reason I could do it with ease was because I was a learned master at it.

I searched for a minute, until Link interrupted me.

"Uh...Shadow? You do, somehow, have the book, right? I mean, you brought it?"

I checked one last time. Nothing.

"Shadow?"

I very loudly said a word that made Link look at me in horror and shock.

**End of Chapter 5**

Huzzah, I can breathe again! I finished this chapter in one freaking day. Pardon my language if that offends anyone. XD I also didn't want to type, but I want the story done, so you can thank my workaholic attitude for this chapter being up here. :D I'm shooting for a total of at least 30,000 words in the story. So far, my grand total is 8,902 words, so you can expect a much longer story than this. Please review, as it gives me motivation to keep going. I won't make you clean my house. XD


	6. Chapter 6, In the East Palace

**Chapter 6**

**In Front of the East Palace**

It stood towering in front of us, with its sand colored bricks and grated windows. I stared up at the capped towers and elaborate double doors. A quick wind blew the crows on the roof into a flurry.

"Link?"

I turned my head to look at Shadow. I gave her a small smile.

"Let's go inside."

Inside the East Palace, nothing was in good shape. We were standing inside the main room. The walls were cracked, the floors were covered in sand and gravel, and the air had a musty scent. Almost all of the furniture was demolished, and on a large alter at the back of the hall was a huge statue of Din. She was shrouded in many gowns, and her eyes had no pupils. She appeared to be flying to the front of the room, with her hands cupped in front of her face. A plaque was positioned at the base of the alter. Shadow rushed over to read it.

"In honor of Din, the great goddess of power." She read. "Guardian of Gorons and Gerudans."

She paused. "The rest is smudged out."

We continued through the temple, stopping occasionally to examine passageways that could lead us to the pendant.

We finally reached a great hall.

"This place is like a ghost town." I murmured.

A blue-ish shimmer suddenly appeared, and hovered around us for a second before vanishing.

"Thank you, captain obvious." Shadow said with the tone of sarcasm.

"Ah..."

We began to search the room, trying to dig up some sort of clue. Something caught my eye.

It was a small octorock, with a pink body and orange legs. It was adorable, with its little puckered lips and scuttling legs.

"Hey, Shadow!" I called. Shadow stepped over to me.

"What, did you find something?"

"No, but look at this baby octorock! Isn't it cute?" I said, petting its head.

"I've heard that baby octorocks can be really irritable."

"But look at this guy! He couldn't possibly be a threat!"

"Uhm, Link? I...wouldn't do that..." She said, as I began to scratch its head.

"It's such a cute wittle ting!" I crooned.

Suddenly, the octorock made a loud hissing noise. It started to grow, and soon its head touched the temple ceiling. Its legs turned into long, flailing tentacles, and its puckered lips became a cave. It let out a loud, violent wail.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL A '_CUTE WITTLE TING_'?" Shadow yelled over the noise.

"I-I didn't know it was old enough to transform!" I called back.

"Here, just-just take a shadow blade, fight that thing off!" Shadow formed a sword, then tossed it over to me.

"Why can't you fight?"

"'Cause I already saved your butt from certain doom in the Twilight Realm, now get moving!"

I decided against arguing, but my decision might have been aided by a large tentacle crashing down over my head. With a yelp, I dived out of the way.

And so I began to fight. I dodged one arm here, another arm there. Every now and then, I'd get a bit of one cut off. And every time, the Giant Octorock would become even madder.

"Link! Quit fooling around and actually _do some damage_!" Shadow yelled.

So I attempted. An arm came crashing down, and when it landed, I hopped on top of it, and quickly climbed up to its body. I scrambled up so I was on its top lip, and tried to stab it in the eye.

The next thing I knew, everything was dark.

Shadow later told me that I had slipped on some blood on my shoe, and fallen into its mouth. But I swear the Octorock had decided to swallow me.

**Shadow's Point Of View**

I watched as the idiot slipped, and a small splash indicated blood as the cause. I watched as he fell into the monster's stomach, with a terrified look on his face. The Octorock let a satisfied grin creep across its ghastly face.

"All right, Link." I muttered to myself as I focused magic into my arms. "I'm coming to save you, but don't think I'll enjoy it."

"Hey, you big brute!" I called up to the Octorock. "Down here!"

It slowly turned its body so it faced me, and made an infuriated face.

"Look at me! I can run faster!" It attempted to lash out with an arm, but I was quicker. "Gotta catch me!" I yelled.

And the chase was on. Brag, duck, run. Brag, duck, run. It went on and on. I had to make sure the Octorock really thought it was a chase.

Finally, it caught me. The monster lifted me up to eye level, and grinned hugely. I lowered me so I could see it's gaping chasm of a mouth.

"That's what I was hoping you would do." I muttered. I lifted my arm so it was pointing into the creature's mouth.

A wave of Shadow magic surged from arm. It poured down its throat ripping open its throat, stomach, and so on. Dark energy poisoned the light dweller, and it exploded with a loud _bang_! Like an overinflated balloon.

**Link's Point of View**

I was dropped to the ground, along with Shadow, as pieces of Octorock rained down on top of us.

"Ewww..." I said, wiping gunk off of my arms. "I thought monsters were supposed to go _poof _when you kill them, but this one-"

"Let me guess," Shadow said, standing up next to me. "This one _a'sploded_, right?"

I nodded slowly. Then, I noticed something behind Shadow. It was a blue, shimmering light, with a bit of a weak twist of wind circling it.

"Shadow, look behind you!" I called. She turned around.

And the simmer began to materialize. Slowly, blue hair grew from the top, and beautiful shawls were draped around a turquoise gown. A female's perfect face sprouted like a blossom under the hair. The figure radiated perfect calm.

"Greetings, Link and Shadow." Nayru said, landing softly on the ground.

"Oh my va-" Shadow stopped midsentence. "Oh my gosh." Nayru chuckled.

"You have both done well. I am proud." She said fluently. "Shadow, it was quite clever of you to kill the demon with your Shadow Magic. You knew that otherworldly powers would not mix with the Light monster."

"And me? What about me?" I said, rushing forward like a five-year old trying to get a present.

Nayru raised an eyebrow. "You were courageous, I'll give you that, but my strong suit is wisdom, not courage.

"Wait a minute," Shadow said. "Were you watching us the whole time?"

Nayru nodded.

"But why didn't you just help us?"

"Because," Nayru said. "I had to make sure that you really were strong enough for this quest. If I had helped, I may as well have been sending some curious villagers on this adventure."

"Wait a minute." I said. "So, this means we really are chosen to save Hyrule?"

Shadow looked at me. "Do you even know why Hyrule is in danger?"

"Yes." I lied.

"Let me explain." Nayru said.

"Link, when you witnessed Din steal your friend Jine, you saw a dark magic radiate off of her, correct?"

I nodded. "It was Black Magic, right?"

"Yes." She responded. "You see, that was not actually Din."

"First she's not Sila, then she's not Din, who is this lady?" I cried.

"Patience. Allow me to reword my sentence. The person you saw was Din, but she was not reacting of her own free will."

"Whatever could take away her ability to think by herself?" Shadow asked.

"An awful weapon of the Twilight Realm. It is an evil Mask, something that belongs to a witch by the name of Majora."

"How did it affect Din?" I asked, confused as to how an evil mask could control such a powerful deity.

"You see," Nayru began. "Din is not the villain here."

"So, we should be going after this witch, then?" I asked.

"No. Majora has not done anything wrong. Majora was originally on a quest to deliver the mask to the temple of Shadow."

I turned to Shadow. "_Everything _is named after you!" I cried. A corner of Shadow's mouth twitched upwards.

"But as she was walking, she was ambushed by a small army of evil beings, which was led by a horrific woman by the name of Veran."

"I-I've heard of her!" Shadow said. "Hundreds of years ago, she nearly destroyed Labrynna until Sir Raven came and killed her." She looked thoughtful for a minute. "But I thought Veran was only a spirit that would possess people. In fact, didn't she control your body?"

"Yes, she did." Nayru said. "Only a select few have actually seen the shape of her humanoid soul."

"So, if Veran doesn't have a body, how did she attack Majora?"

"There is a leader." She replied. "Veran worships him, giving him everything he desires."

"His name?" Shadow said, narrowing her eyes.

"We don't know." Was the response. "We do know that he has seen her spiritual form, and supplied her with a body that looks like it. He gave her a small army, and she set off, ambushing Majora in Hyrule Field and taking the mask."

"Then what?"

"This group of evil people, consisting of monsters and other villains like Veran, stole a book from Hyrule Castle's Sacred Library."

"I heard about that." I said. "Jine told me someone took a book of ancient rituals and spells, but no one could find the theif."

"That's right. They all returned to their hideout, set the book on the table, and performed a spell."

"What did it do?" Shadow asked.

"This spell was given to the Hylians when the goddesses left Hyrule. The spell was to be used when the Hylians were in the apocalypse. We supplied the people with the hero of time, to save them when possible. But we knew that every world had to come to an end, and this spell was used to call on us three holy Goddesses. There was a separate line for each specific goddess, and the evil clan called on"

"Don't tell me." Shadow whispered.

"They called on Din." Nayru finished. "She appeared, of course, but was attacked with the mask and the monsters until she had no energy left. They put the mask to her face, and with some black magic, the mask sank into her face."

"That's disgusting." I said.

"So they sent Din away, controlled by the mask, to kidnap the princesses."

I pinched my brow. Something about this was beginning to sound very familiar.

"When they had Princesses Jine and Akaya, Din was led back to the hideout, and the princesses were trapped. In the main room, they did one more thing with Din. With stimulated magic, Veran sucked out Din's soul, and fed it into her own body."

I think my eye twitched. "Absolutely repulsive." Shadow said.

"So now, Hyrule is counting on you two to gather the other pendants. Here, Link." Nayru handed me a sword. "Three pendants combined with this sword will make the Master Sword, enabling defeat of Veran. And Shadow;" Nayru handed Shadow what looked like a small, glimmering plate with a chain attached. "For your efforts, I will award you with the Pendant of Wisdom."

Shadow grinned at me like a bragging child. "Look at what I got Link! I got the Pendant of Wisdom! She how sparkly and Sacred and Holy it is! Aw, what did you get, a wittle sword? Too bad." I glared at her.

Nayru chuckled. "Good luck, you two, and be careful.

**Outside the East Palace**

"So, where do we go now, Shadow?" I asked. "We don't have a map of the temples, and Nayru didn't tell us where to go next, so..."

Shadow thought for a minute. "I once stayed at a really nice village when I was roaming around Hyrule Field."

"What was it called?"

She thought again. "I believe its name was Kakariko Village."

"Do you remember where it is?"

"I remember it being at the base of the mountains."

I searched for Death Mountain. It stood out from the other mountains, because of the huge boulders that constantly rolled down its sides. "There it is." I said, pointing. "Shall we head off?"

Shadow nodded to me. "We shall."

**End of Chapter 6**

I am so glad I finished this, even though it's not my favorite chapter. This one felt kind of rambling as I typed, especially the area near the end, but oh well. Maybe it's different when you read it. I think I'm going to shorten my goal to 25,000 words for now, but I'll try to make the story as long as I can possibly drag it out for. Please review, because it makes Linky happy. :D


	7. Chapter 7, The Shadow Temple

**Chapter 7**

We stepped into Kakariko Village three days after getting the pendant of Wisdom. Feeling beaten, Link and I stumbled around for a few steps before the villagers came running to meet us, ready to offer up their houses for rest.

"Good gracious, are you two all right?" A pretty woman said as she led us to her house, her fingers twitching and fretting like a mother bird. I recognized her from my last visit to Kakariko, but I had never learned her name.

We stepped inside, knees shaking, eyes half closed. It was just an act, though. Link and I had earlier decided to put on a show, taking advantage of the peoples' kind personality. Actually, I had forced Link to, and Link had pouted saying that it wasn't nice. I ignored his argument, because I usually find his innocent and amazingly sweet nature amusing and irritating at the same time.

"Here, take some water." She fretted, rushing over to us and handing over a bottle of water. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank y-ow!" I kicked Link under the table where we were sitting at. "Actually," I said, widening my eyes like a six-year-old, "Do you have red potion?"

"Absolutely! Of course, of course..." She headed over to her kitchen, lifting her skirts from the ground. I was relieved that she didn't ask about Link's sudden outburst.

"What did you kick me for?" Link whispered under his breath to me. "We don't need red potion!"

"Link, I don't think you get it." I breathed back, mentally rolling my eyes. "These people are willing to do anything to make us feel welcome. We may as well indulge while we can. Besides, we're saving their happy butts. Don't you think we deserve a little reward?"

"It's still not very nice..." He murmured back. A minute later, the lady came back, with bottles of red potion and cups of steaming cider. I raised my eyebrows at Link, a smirk on my face. He scowled.

"So, tell me your name." The woman said, looking at Link. We had all sat down at her table and were chatting over cider and potion. She seemed to have calmed down by now.

"I know who you are, young lady." She said, turning to me with a grin on her cheeks. I feebly smiled back.

"My name is Link." Link proclaimed after a gulp of cider.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"My name is Kastrya. I'm originally from Castle Town, but I grew bored of the city life." She smiled. "Now. What were you two doing to have become so tired in Hyrule field?" She asked, her eyes darting over us, examining our expressions. Her thin fingers lifted the cup to her lips, allowing a sip of drink.

"We're on a quest you see." I said, wondering if I really should be telling her this.

Kastrya blinked. "I see. What are you doing?"

"Link's friend was kidnapped." I explained, studying her expression. "We're trying to gather three pendants that will help us defeat the kidnapper."

"I see." She said, resting her cup on the glass table. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Apparently, the pendants are hidden in abandoned master temples around Hyrule. Do you have any of those around here?"

"Well..." She looked up thoughtfully. "We do have one underground temple in the center of Kakariko, but it was abandoned years ago because of reports of demons haunting the place." She shuddered. "We tried every priest and priestess in Hyrule, even a few witches who were kind enough to help, but nothing worked."

"Are you serious?" I cried, jumping up. "It's really this close? This is wonderful! Let's go now!"

"B-but the demons!" She replied, her hands beginning to quiver. "You're not scared?"

I almost laughed. Me, scared? That was downright hilarious. I had faced terrible monsters without a faltering step. Demons didn't sound so bad.

"Of course I'm not scared!" I said, popping my eyebrows quickly. "I've faced much worse than what you're describing."

She looked at me, then glanced at Link, who seemed to be about as terrified as herself. "All right." She said, her voice small. "I'll lead you there."

**Outside The House**

As we were walking, Link became curious and asked Kastrya a question.

"So...you said this place was underground, right? How's that possible?"

She shrugged. "When Hylians first came to Kakariko Village, they quickly learned that it was overrun by monsters. They were forced to dig a hole, and hide there underground. Of course, they knew the monsters would follow them, so they created an elaborate maze. From there, they worshipped their goddess, Farore, until the monsters found their way through the labyrinth. They fought a little, then, with Farore's blessing, they quickly made their way out. The hole was then turned into a well, and the monsters were drowned out. That's why we named this place Kakariko, though. It means _salvation _in ancient Hyrulain. Now we all think that the demons are the souls of the monsters that have returned to haunt us, so, y'know. If they begin to speak in unknown languages, now you know why."

Link and I chuckled at her poor attempt of humor. Well, I did. Link was still too terrified to do anything but whimper.

"Here we are." She said, stopping at a pile of stones." I'll lead you to the door, but after that, you're on your own."

With that we began to climb down. I actually had to push Link down a little, since he wasn't moving.

"What kind of hero are you anyway?" I snapped at him as I stepped down the last few rungs into the well.

"The kind that doesn't like creepy wells full of monsters that want to eat me." He replied.

"Suck it up. You're here to save Hyrule, not bleat like a sheep." I hissed back. That shut him up.

The main room was entirely made of stone, save for the metal entrance door. It was about the size of a house's first level, with an occasional bug scuttling across the ruined floor. Only a small part of the room had light shining in from the entrance to the well. The rest of the room had a curving stone roof above it. Sometimes, a drop of water would fall from ceiling.

"Okay, I won't take you any farther." Kastrya said. "The door doesn't have a lock, so just open it, and make sure you close it behind you, since we don't want evil ghouls running around in the Village. Good luck." And with that, she departed, climbing up the ladder to the light of day.

I turned to Link. "Shall we?"

"No." He muttered, looking up longingly to the entrance.

"C'mon." I said, dragging him over by his collar while I opened the door. "You could at least _pretend_ to be brave..."

With small _tep tep teps _of our feet, we stepped into a dark room, barely lit by firelight. I heard a moan, and a scuttling sound. Evil faces stared at us from a prison of cracked walls. I had a feeling that whispering would be the best way to talk.

"Link," I breathed, keeping my eyes on the room. "I know you're scared, but something tells me that we shouldn't goof off here. Try to keep your courage up, 'kay?" Link nodded, he understood.

We stepped into an L-shaped room filled with doors. A painting of a skull rested on each one.

I turned to Link. "Which one?"

Link shrugged, looking as puzzled as I felt. I decided to choose a random door on the opposite wall of the door we came in through.

Slowly, we stepped into the odd room leading from the door. White plants grew in a ring, with a stone in the center. I studied the scene curiously.

"What do you think this is, some kind of alter?" I asked Link. He shrugged. "Maybe. I was thinking it looked more like someone's bedroom. So, they could sleep on the rock, with the fancy plants around them." I rolled my eyes. "This is a temple, not a house!" Link scowled at me. "Excuse me for being imaginative!"

I looked back at the rock. "Are you sure that's even a rock?" Link shook his head. "Go check it out, then." I ordered.

With slow steps, Link walked into the center of the room. As he stepped through the plants, I swear I saw one move.

"I don't know if this is rock, Shadow. I think you were right." Link murmured matter-of-factly as he crept over to the rock-like...thing.

That's when it happened.

It was the most awful, terrifying, shriek that you could imagine. As the thing Link was inspecting rose up, a shrill scream broke from its parted lips, as it loped over to him with odd, shuffling steps. I found myself frozen, my feet melted with the ground, as everything but the monster was caught in Father Time's web.

Only my eyes could dart around crazily, and I took advantage of that. My pupils rested on a humanoid figure, with startlingly black eyes, deep as the pits of hell, and dark brown skin. The face was dropping chunks of muck, and it was so dirty I couldn't tell if it was mud or rotting flesh.

After about five infuriatingly slow seconds, I took control of my body, and put feeling back in my limbs. My eyes opened wide and my long ears pulled back as I shook myself into reality. The redead was closing in onto Link, and for a second, I doubted my abilities. I doubted the skills I had that could save him, but I mentally slapped myself in the face, because I knew what had to be done. I knew that if I didn't act, no one would, and besides, that was Link that was in danger. I tightened my eyes.

My friend.

And all sense of control flew from my body. I charged at the beast like a wild animal, not faltering once to consider the consequences. My instincts kicked in like a mother's, and my dainty fingers clenched into a fist. The speed of my body guaranteed a killing blow.

The fist hit the redead in the face with so much force it was knocked to the ground, its dirty mask crumbling to expose a shrieking head, with brown blood seeping in all over it from a ruined hole in the center of the nose. It then collapsed to the ground, giving me two seconds to rejoice before I hit the wall with a dull thud.

"Sh-Shadow!" Link ran over, his blue irises the size of marbles. His boots hit the gravel with echoing _chak chak chaks_ that brought the stars in my eyes back down to Earth. My lids fluttered open, exposing a blurred-out vision of Link standing in front of me. My head pounded in time with my heart, like a soft metronome.

"Shadow, are you all right?" I could sense the panic in his voice, the fear. I blinked a few more times to sharpen the feathery edges I saw in the corners of the room.

Link was right in front of me. I could see the fear for me swirling in his bright blue eyes. I could taste the scent of his breath, vanilla and cherry, probably from the potion and cider. I could see the way his hair swung around his face, the way his light blonde lashes brushed the soft area under his eye, every little detail came to me, and the sudden beauty I saw caught me off guard, sweeping away any breath that had gathered in my lungs.

"Shadow, can you hear me?" Link said, his voice somewhat calmer. That was what woke me from the trance.

I stood up suddenly, knocking link away from me with a sudden _oof!, _much to my amusment.

"Of course I'm fine, you buffoon! Why would you think wouldn't I be?" I exclaimed as Link, who had become used to my rants, picked himself up off the ground.

"I don't know, you were just kind of, staring at me, like you were zoned out. I couldn't tell if you had come to yet."

I tilted my head up a bit higher, and flipped my long black hair behind my shoulder, where I could easily tuck it behind my ear. "Whatever. We need to get out of here, before another one of those...those..._things _come back or something."

I strode quickly out of the room. I think Link might have said something under his breath, but I didn't stop to listen.

**End of Chapter 7**

O. M. F. G. (The 'f' stands for freaking, what did you think it stood for? XD)  
I can finally breathe again! Actually, this was almost as fun to type as it is to read.  
I'm not going to lie to myself. The last chapter stank. It stank bad. DX  
So, I promised myself that I'd make an awesomesauce (XD) chapter for you to read. And even though I wrote it, I think I can safely say that it came out all right.  
See, I was reading other people's stories here on and it just put this whole 'writing mood' into me, so I began to type.

Okay, that only happened today, while I'm finishing the story, the first day I had to force myself to put in detail.  
Originally, this chapter was supposed to be, like, 4,000 words, about twice my average, but I reeeeally wanted to post this, so the next part is coming soon.  
Whoa. Longest. Author's note. Ever. O_o


End file.
